#Plastikophobia – Highlighting Plastic Waste at Marina Barrage

Plastikophobia is an immersive art installation held at the Sustainable Singapore Gallery. Artists Von Wong and Joshua Goh (Imaginator Studios) and Social Impact Strategist Laura Francois teamed up to build an experiential art piece in Singapore to illustrate the feeling of “Plastikophobia” – the fear of plastics.

18,000 plastic cups were collected from 26 hawker centres in Singapore to evoke the feeling of Plastikophobia. The project calls into question the ‘take away’ culture in Singapore, and explores alternatives to facilitate the transition towards a circular economy.

The initiative is being held in alignment with Singapore’s Year Toward Zero Waste, and World Wildlife Day, for which the 2019 theme is, ‘Life below water: for people and planet’.

Well okay, it wasn’t all fun and games and selfies. There were a lot of cups to clean. A LOT.

We collected over 18,000 cups in 1.5 days (and took another 1.5 days to wash them all), which is a feat.

While everyone kept the general mood up, we were all watching the pile of cups growing and growing. That was such a serious and visual reminder of what we were taking for granted everyday.

Meanwhile while all that was going, on the team at Imaginator Studios was busy trying to build up the structure.

The challenge wasn’t just building something for people to look at, it was how to create a fully immersive experience, a feeling of constriction and anxiety.

Then the wood-cutting and drilling began! I didn’t have the time to join in on this, and I was equal parts disappointed and relieved. I mean I’m not really a woodworking person.

After that we moved to the Marina Barrage to begin working on the plastic.

I don’t know what’s going on here between Von Wong and makeup artist Pippin Emerald, but I like this concept of being restricted or ‘suffocated’ by plastic.

Also I just like the expression on model/lighting expert Max, who looks so happy to be ‘exploring’ this plastic cave.

We all know plastic is a problem. The news is always talking about it. But when you see it right in front of you. The story becomes real. And to know that Singaporeans everyday were single-using this much plastic (ourselves included) is a very sad realization.

Go behind the scenes with me for a look at the making of #Plastikophobia.